Tears and Warmth
by Ino-chan
Summary: Ino has to deal with something unexpected..(or is it really?) And there's one who's there to comfort her. ShikaIno.. -


1**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.. Even though I wish Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Itachi were all mine.. cackles

**Author's note:** My first ShikaIno fic... Lol. My favorite pairing, I finally made something instead of reading all of the ShikaIno existing... This takes place when everyone's older.. (about 16-17).. There will some slight references to other pairings as well.

**Chapter One: Tears and Warmth**

_What am I doing? Why am doing this? Just for one boy? No, it wasn't just any boy, it was Sasuke Uchiha._

_I've done so many things for him. My hair was long, my make-up and nails always had to be perfect, I even watched my weight. I was so vain. Did I really think he'd fall in love with just a shadow of myself? Who was I? A reflection of what I wanted to others to see? Or just afraid to let my true self show?_

_I wanted to make him love me... it just wasn't fair. I loved him since I was little, before Sakura did. I loved him the most, or so I thought. I needed him, I wanted him. And I hated her._

_Or did I?_

That's when Shikamaru walked in. Having an extra key(he was my teammate after all), in case of emergencies, he let himself in. "Ne, In–." He looked at me mouth slightly open, as if in shock. I wondered why he had that expression, until I looked at myself on sprawled out on the floor. A broken piece of glass pressed against my wrist was gently drawing a little blood. What was I doing? Shikamaru ran over to me and tried to take the glass out of my hand. Having lost all reason, I didn't let go. "Iie, Shikamaru–."

"What the hell are you doing, Ino?" With that he pinned me down and wrestled me for the glass. "Is this all for that cold-hearted bastard?" Finally, he managed to pull the glass away even though there was much resistance. A bit of blood trickled down onto the floor. Blood that didn't belong to me. I looked up at Shikamaru and found a cut by his waist. "Shika...maru.." Did he just get that because of me?

"Oi, Ino... How troublesome..." He smiled reassuringly. "Ino-chan, it's alright, don't worry." Then he picked me up and carried me into my room. He retrieved two wash cloths, one for my wound, the other for his. As I held the cloth to my wrist, tears began to stream down my cheeks. The tears made small, circular impressions on the cloth, coming down hard and faster. I felt myself choke on the sobs, here I was showing such weakness, a weakness no one else should have to see. But he was right there.

Ino was the only word he managed to say for a while. He placed his arm around me, giving me support. I leaned on him and felt his warmth. After staying like this for a while, he glanced down at me. "Ne, Ino-chan, why don't you take a refreshing and relaxing shower? You need to get the blood off of you anyway."

I looked at him quizzically. "You're not trying to pull anything, are you?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Ino, you know I wouldn't do that. Just go do it." Shikamaru sighed. "I'm glad part of you is back to normal." I smirked.

I walked into the bathroom and removed my clothes. After I made the water the right temperature, I stepped into the shower. I watched the water flow down my body and wash away the blood on my wrist. I washed my hair and body, eventually I just relaxed, letting the warm water soak into me. The pain in my heart being soothed by the hot water on my chest. The heat was so nice and it felt like someone embracing me. My cheeks turned a deep shade of pink when I realized that not long ago did I feel this. This warmth.

Then suddenly my eyes started watering and I thought of Sasuke once again. My love... my first love. Only he would make me happy, which meant I had a very low chance at happiness. I smiled sorrowfully and let myself shed all the tears, for they intermingled with the water and no one could tell them apart.

**Author's note:** To be continued in the next chapter.. XD Hahaha.. I will make you wait.. XD

**_REVIEW PUH-LEASE!! -_**


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